On September 20, 2017 local time, Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the High-level Security Council Meeting on the UN Peacekeeping Operations in New York.

Wang Yi expressed in his speech that at present, the UN peacekeeping operations have faced many new problems and new challenges. China supports reasonable and necessary reform to enable the peacekeeping missions to fully implement their mandates. The reform of peacekeeping operations should strictly observe the basic norms of international relations including sovereign equality, non-intervention in other states' internal affairs and peaceful settlement of disputes. The purposes and principles of the UN Charter are the foundation of peacekeeping. The promotion of political settlement is the core of peacekeeping. The consolidation of partnership is the backbone of peacekeeping, and the realization of sustainable development is the recipe for peacekeeping.

Wang Yi noted that some African countries' efforts in safeguarding national peace and security have encountered challenges. The international community, the UN in particular, should enhance all-round cooperation with the African Union (AU) in peacekeeping and provide the AU with timely and effective assistance. Firstly, we need to enhance political support. We need to support African countries to solve African issues independently in African ways and deepen cooperation with the AU in such fields as conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict reconstruction. Secondly, we need to strengthen support for capacity building. We should help to enhance AU's capacity in various fields in light of its aspirations and needs. Thirdly, we need to scale up financial support. The Chinese side supports the AU proposal on peacekeeping financing and hopes that the Security Council will promptly come up with a concrete method to support independent AU peacekeeping operations in accordance with the provisions of Resolutions 2320 and 2378.

Wang Yi stressed that China has always been a staunch supporter of and an active participant in UN peacekeeping operations. China is a major troop contributor and the second largest financial contributor. China has already dispatched a total of around 35,000 troops and 2,700 police to participate in peacekeeping operations. At the UN Peacekeeping Summit in 2015, President Xi Jinping put forth new initiatives to strengthen peacekeeping operations and announced a host of major measures that China would take to support peacekeeping operations. These measures are now under implementation in a positive manner.

Wang Yi expressed that as a permanent member of the Security Council and the largest developing country, China is well aware of the preciousness of peace. We will continue to work jointly with other peace-loving nations to offer concrete support to UN peacekeeping operations and in particular to African countries. Together, we will make our planet a place of durable peace.